GG36020 - THE HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE

Module Identifier	GG36020
Module Title	THE HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE
Academic Year	2001/2002
Co-ordinator	Professor Robert Dodgshon
Semester	Semester 2
Course delivery	Lecture	20 Hours 20 x 1 hour
	Seminar	2 Hours 2 x 1 hour seminars
Assessment	Exam	2 Hours Written examination.	50%
	Project work	3000 word project on a designated section of the module. Late submissions subject to a departmental penalty of 5% points per day. Both elements to be completed to obtain a pass; mark based on the aggregate performance.	50%
	Resit assessment	Resit: For a condoned (medical grounds) non-completion of examination or coursework involves the completion of the missing component(s) for the full range of marks on dates set in the Supplementary Examination period. Resit due to aggregate failure or non-completion of part of the assessment requires re-examination of each component if marks of <40% in both were obtained, or re-examination or re-submission of the failed component (examination or assignment(s) to obtain a maximum mark of 40% for the module).

Module Outline (Lecture Themes)

The course will be organised around the following themes:

Early Britain: Continuity-Discontinuity debate.

Medieval Settlement and Landholding in Lowland Britain: Village origins, settlement shifts, regular villages, open fields and desertions.

Medieval Settlements and Landholding in Upland Britain: Wales, northern England and Scotland.

Trends in the Countryside 1086-1350: Growth and Contraction.

Changes in Key Habitats: Woods, Wetlands and Heath.

Changes in the Rural Landscape of Lowland Britain since 1500.

Changes in the Rural Landscape of Upland Britain since 1500.

Module Aims

The module will introduce students to the geographical patterns and processes around which the long-term development of the British countryside has been structured. It will develop the student's understanding of change particularly the interaction between the forces of continuity and discontinuity. In addition, it will demonstrate the importance of seeing the core problems of the course through different types of evidence (documentary, cartographic, place names, field-based, photographic) and as a product of different type of processes (social, economic, political and environmental).

Module objectives / Learning outcomes

For students, the prime learning outcome will be a basic grasp of the patterns and processes through which the history of the British rural landscape can be interpreted. They will also acquire experience in handling, evaluating and cross-matching qualitatively different types of evidence, and in dealing with both the intellectual and practical aspects of debates that embrace sharply-conflicting viewpoints.

Reading Lists

Books
T. Aston. (1985) Interpreting the Landscape. Batsford ISBN 0-7134-3650-6
R.A. Dodgshon and R.A. Butlin (eds). (1990) An Historical Geography of England and Wales. Academic Press, chaps. 1,3,4,7,17. ISBN 0-12-219253-2
R. Hodges. (1991) Wall-to-Wall History. The Story of Royston Grange. Duckworth ISBN 0-7156-2342-7
O. Rackham. (1986) The History of the Countryside. ISBN 0-460-04449-4
O. Rackham. The Illustrated History of the Countryside. 1995 ISBN 0-297-83392-8
B.K. Roberts. (1987) The Making of the English Village. ISBN 0-582-30143-2
C. Taylor. (1983) Farmstead and Village. Philip ISBN 0-540-010715